Surprise! It’s a spicy sapphic cozy fantasy story perfect for pumpkin season.
Hayride is the tale of what happens when a bashful mortal butch encounters an eager brawny succubus. It’s on the longer end of the short story spectrum (9k words) and includes garlic, apples, squash soup, and the best that New England autumn has to offer.
You can read it wherever fine books are found, but particularly on my Payhip.
And if you’re curious about how the cover came to be, you can watch the whole process over on my YouTube.
This is a short story (6k words) about what happens when a wastrel prince takes drastic measures to preserve his wayward love.
It is not a romance. While the story revolves on the axis of a romantic relationship, it does not end in a happily-ever-after. If you are wildly optimistic, it ends in a happy-for-now.
It’s gory, it’s toxic, it’s harrowing. Perfect for the season of All Hallow’s Eve.
Why is this?
Halcyon and Noll have lived in my heart for over a decade. Now they are out in the world for you to read. Enjoy!
Any relation to the Halcyon in Fiorenzo?
Absolutely none, I just like the name.
Where can I read this story?
You can download the epub from my Payhip as well as from my Patreon store.
What’s the soundtrack for a fae Victorian romance?
The music I listen to while working on stories in this fantastical world has changed from book to book. Originally, when writing Oak King Holly King, I built a playlist of New Age, Celtic, medieval, and folk music that played on repeat for the two years it took to bring Shrike and Wren to life.
In between publishing Oak King Holly King and Tales from Blackthorn Briar, I learned that the dungeon synth genre existed. The soundtrack for these stories is almost entirely dungeon synth, particularly Fief, Quest Master, Inlustris, Ulk, Dim, and Dark Vestige.
After Tales from Blackthorn Briar, and through dungeon synth, I found what would become one of my favorite bands, Obsequiae.
Obsequiae combines black metal vocals, punk rock drums, and medieval modes on their guitars to create a sound unlike anything else out there. The live recording of their performance at Fire in the Mountains in 2022 is on repeat whenever I annotate Oak King Holly King.
Please enjoy these extremely vague spoilers for Oak King Holly King IV.
On Sunday, August 30th, I attended an ambient concert at Aviary Books in scenic New Bedford, Massachusetts. This is the word association that resulted during an evening of innovative sounds from TotoRobyn, Hypnagogue, cryptwarbler, and James May. 10/10, would enjoy the ambience again.
In the meantime, you can catch up with all twelve chapters of Oak King Holly King IV available right now on Patreon.
This September marks the third anniversary of Fiore and Enzo’s sword-crossed romance. How shall we celebrate?
For those who are just now joining us, a few words of elucidation may prove prudent. Fiorenzo is a queer fantasy-of-manners romance featuring swordplay, hurt/comfort, and a happily-ever-after. It tells the story of Fiore, a courtesan with a plan, and Enzo, a masked aristocrat whose arrival in Fiore’s life absolutely annihilates that plan, to both their benefit. Both Fiore and Enzo are near and dear to my heart, and I’m delighted to celebrate the third year since their story first reached readers like yourself.
And as for celebrations… first, I’m officially releasing the Enzo face-reveal postcard print, illustrated beautifully by Katabay (@katabay on tumblr). Long-time loyal subscribers may have seen it before, but if you’ve just recently joined us, here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming. Spoilers for Fiorenzobelow!
This illustration will be available as both a postcard print and as a sticker from my Etsy shop starting this September.
To further celebrate… ♡ all annotated books will be 30% off for the whole month with the coupon code FIORENZOANNIVERSARY, ♡ and for September only, the postcard print will also be included as a freebie with every Etsy order of a Fiorenzo paperback, signed and annotated alike!
That’s all for this Nothwell newsletter, and as always, thank you for reading.
Pride Month is a whirlwind of activity for queer romance authors, and my experience this past June was no exception. Even so, it came with an enormous and wonderful surprise that I could never have anticipated.
As a big research nerd into history, medicine, botany, and increasingly more obscure fields with every book I write, I cannot begin to express the elation I felt when Dr. Markéta Šmídová tagged me on bsky alongside the illustrious names of KJ Charles, Arden Powell, Freya Marske, Lee Welch, Emily Tesh, and Harper Fox, to announce that they had just successfully defended their doctoral dissertation, promisingly titled, “Kissing for Dear Life in a Dead Land: English Folkloric Liminality in Queer Paranormal Historical Popular Romance.”
Not since “The Philomena of John Bradmore and its Middle English derivative: a perspective on surgery in late Medieval England” by S.J. Lang have I so swiftly, feverishly, and delightedly read an academic work. It is a fascinating read for anyone interested in queer romantasy, and an incredible honour to be included. Highly recommend checking it out if you’ve enjoyed the oeuvre of any of the authors cited within.
That’s all for this Nothwell newsletter, but keep a weather eye on the horizon for September! And as always, thank you for reading.
If you’re intrigued by the contents of Fiore’s sea chest, this is the event for you.
Come Hither of New Bedford will host an 18+ Fiorenzo-focused event, featuring a live reading, author Q&A, and book signing from yours truly.
Come Hither is a welcoming space for all sexualities and relationships. Riding crops, ropes, and more abound. I cannot imagine a more perfect venue to host this auspicious event.
WHAT Fiorenzo reading, Q&A, and book signing!
WHERE Come Hither on the third floor of the Kilburn Mills 127 West Rodney French Blvd New Bedford, MA
I’m absolutely stunned and humbled by your response and so grateful to you for helping me get over this unexpected financial hurdle. Thank you to everyone who has picked up a book (or several!), who has passed the word along to others, and who has read these missives.
There are still some copies remaining of…
• Mr Warren’s Profession, a gay Victorian cross-class romance featuring the wonders and horrors of the industrial revolution.
• Hold Fast, a gay Victorian romance between a whaling harpooner who inherits a baronetcy and the estate agent tasked with turning him from sailor to gentleman.
• Fiorenzo, a fantasy-of-manners mm romance featuring swordplay and hurt/comfort in an alternate version of 18th century Venice.
• The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall, a Gothic lesbian romance rife with horror and heartache, wherein an American heiress makes an ill-advised marriage to bring herself closer to the woman who’s stolen her heart.
The tenth chapter of Oak King Holly King IV – a brand new Oak King Holly King tale – is now on Patre♡n! Wherein it’s Shrike’s turn on the hurt/comfort ride.
Please enjoy this excerpt below.
~
“A quest!” crowed the ambassador the moment the door shut on the glasswork fae’s workshop. “A true quest!”
“Have you ever quested before?” Wren asked.
“Oh, many a time,” the ambassador assured him.
Despite the flowery gesture that accompanied his words, Wren felt inclined to believe him.
~
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them. You’ll also be invited to join an exclusive Discord server just for patrons!
A new chapter will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting… ♡ Oak King Holly King IV
Completed works… ♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) ♡ A Willing Canvas – John Halloway x Lord Cyril Graves (mm) ♡ The Train Job – Rowena Althorp x Rebekah (ff) ♡ Hold Fast 2 – Hold Faster (mm) ♡ Vampires Vampires Vampires (mmm) ♡ The Sebastian Nothwell Contemporary Expanded Universe (mmm+) ♡ A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow (dark academia historical romantasy)
